Method of and apparatus for trans-ferring thread or the like



Sept. 26, 1939. F. F. HILLIX 2,173,340

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING THREAD QR THE LIKE Filed July 13, 1936 A 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR /6 FOSTER HILLIX 3/ ATTORNEY Sept. 26, 1939. v H|LL|X 2,173,840

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR 'I'RANSFERRING THREAD OR THE LIKE Filed July 13, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR FOSTER F2 HlLLlx A TTORNE Y Patented Sept. 26, 1939 METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR TRANS- FERRING THREAD OR THE LIKE Foster F. Hillix, Lakewood, Ohio, assignor to Industrial Rayon Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a. corporation of Delaware Application July 13, 1936, Serial No. 90,321

13 Claims.

This invention relates to methods of and means for removing from a rotating surface thread or the like wound thereon, and, more particularly, to the use of a fiuid current to accomplish this end.

For purposes of illustration, the inventionwill be disclosed in association With a reel which operates to advance thread or the like in a succession of generally helical turns from one end thereof to the other. A reel of this general character is disclosed and claimed in Knebusch application Serial No. 652,089, filed January 16, 1933, to which reference may be had for a detailed description of the reel. It will be understood, however, that any reel which serves to advance thread or the like may be utilized in the practice of the invention.

Reels of this character are advantageously employed to accomplish the continuous processing of artificial filaments as, for example, artificial silk thread. Such artificial silk thread may be made by the cuprammonium, cellulose acetate, cellulose nitrate, or viscose process. In using a plurality of such reels, the thread or the like is allowed to progress in the form of an advancing helix along the first reel, pass to the second reel, and advance in similar helical form along the surface of the second reel, and so on over succeeding reels until the processing of the thread or the like has been completed. While advancing over each reel, the thread or the like may be subjected to any desired treatment: in the viscose process, for example, the thread or the like may be washed, desulphurized, bleached, etc., each operation being performed while the thread or the 5 like is advanced over a separate reel.

Although the thread or the like advances continuously over each reel, means are preferably provided to efiect transfer of the thread or the like from one reel to another. This may be accomplished manually, but in installations involving a considerable number of reels the time and difficulty required to effect manual transfer constitute something of an objection. It is an object of this invention to accomplish this transfer from reel to reel in a wholly automatic manner, employing one or more currents of gas or other fluid. It will be understood, however, that the invention may be utilized wherever it is desired to transfer thread or the like from one surface to another.

An important consideration involved in the automatic transfer of thread or the like is the necessity of making certain that the thread or the like advances along substantially the entire length of the reel. This would not ordinarily be traversed by the thread or the like.

As a result of this feature of the invention, thread or the like passing over the reel is assured an adequate period of treatment.

For purposes of illustration, the invention will be described as employed in the production of artificial silk thread, which will be understood to be comprehended, along with a variety of other types of thread-like materials, by the term thread as hereinafter employed.

In the drawings, which illustrate two related embodiments of the invention, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a continuous threadproducing machine to which one of the embodiments of the invention has been applied. Figure 2 is a section on the line 22 of Figure 1, the thread being omitted. Figure 3 is a side elevation with parts broken away. Figure 4 is an enlarged view on the line 4-4 of Figure 1. Figure 5 is a fragmentary plan showing the second embodiment of the invention.

Figure 6 is a side elevation of Figure 5 looking toward the right, the upper reel being removed. Figure '7 is a front elevation.

invention tion of their respective axes of rotation.

The

reels illustrated are of the type disclosed in the aforesaid Knebusch application in which is described the mode of operation of such reels.

the arrangement herein shown, however, each reel is supported only at the end thereof adjacent the gear box 2|, the other end of the reel being substantially unobstructed.

Drive shaft 22, from which, through gear box 2|, rotary movement is imparted to the reel, may be driven from any suitable power source.

Assuming that it is desired to thread up the apparatus to place it in operation or to re-thread it after the thread has become broken, the thread is caused to progress in the usual way over the upper reel As the leading end of thread reaches the unsupported end of the reel l0, it is subjected to the action of a stream of fluid from a nozzle l4 disposed close to and beneath the center of the reel. This nozzle i4 is supplied with a fluid, such as air or a suitable liquid, through a conduit leading to the header IS. The stream of fluidfrom nozzle l4 removes the forward turns of thread from the reel by a peeling action and the thread so removed then becomes subjected to a fluid stream delivered from a nozzle l6.

Nozzle I6 is supplied from the header l5 by conduit ll extending through the hollow driving shaft IQ of the reel. In order more firmly to support the forward end of nozzle IS in a position close to the bars of the reel. it may be carried by a bushing ii at the forward end of the hollow shaft l9. If desired, in order to give a greater spread to the fluid issuing from nozzle IS, the forward end of the nozzle may be flattened out so as to deliver a stream in fan formation against the forward end of the reel. To prevent the opening to the nozzle l6 from becoming clogged with loose fibers, it may be provided with a shield 23.

Between the reels, a guide member 24 having the formation shown in Figure 2 may be employed as hereinafter explained to cause an over-wind of the thread upon the reel therebelow. This guide includes a slanting portion 25 leading from a point inward of the outermost face of the reel to a point 26 beyond the unsupported end of the reel. From point 25 the guide leads back toward the reel to a portion 21 extending laterally with respect to the reel. The portion 21 is so disposed that it will deliver thread to the reel below at the zone thereof intended to receive the thread during normal operation.

Inasmuch as fluid is ordinarily showered upon the reel from a distributor 28 supplied from a common conduit 29, it is desirable partially to enclose the reel with a pan 3|. Liquid is removed from the pan through conduit 30. While the sides of the pan 3| may extend above the reel, the forward face of the pan should be cut away to a larger diameter than that of the reel in order that removal of the reel may be accomplished without removal of the pan. The portion of the forward face of the pan to which the guide 24 is secured should lie inward of the forward face of the reel in order that the thread may freely pass over the guide member 24 without striking the edge of the pan.

In operation, the nozzles l4 and l6'will ordinarily be continuously supplied with fluid, although it is possible to shut off the flow of fluid after the transfer of, the thread has been accomplished. By allowing the fluid to flow continuously, a thread which might inadvertently break during the normal running of the machine will move into the fluid stream and be transferred automatically, thus dispensing with the necessity of attention from an operator. The combined action of nozzles l4 and It results in delivery of the thread from reel ill to the reel ll, so that the thread initially assumes a position indicated by the broken line A. Thereafter, due to the fact that the thread is taken up by the lower reel II, the thread tends to assume the position indicated generally by the broken line B.

The thread assumes the position represented by broken line B due to the siackness of the thread between reels and also due to the tendency of the thread to carry on around the under side of the upper reel Hi. It will be observed that in position B the thread is in contact with the guide 24 slightly to the rear of point 26. Upon further rotation of the reels,the length of thread between them begins to shorten and this causes movement of the thread along the portion 25 of the guide in a direction toward point 26 as represented by the broken line C. Inasmuch as this advances the thread outward over the lower reel I! toward the unsupported end thereof, an overwind of thread upon the lower reel ll results. As soon as the thread has passed over the outermost point 26 of the guide, it drops into the portion 21 for normal running and the thread then continues to pass in a nearly straight line, as representeii by D, from the upper reel ill to the lower reel I.

In passing from the thread position indicated by the line A to the thread position indicated by line B, the turns of thread formed upon the reel II will be relatively Widely spaced. The presence of these widely spaced turns results in the formation of a fewer number of turns on reel ll than that reel can accommodate and this condition will continue during subsequent operation. Since there then will not be upon reel II the full possible number of turns, complete treatment of thread might not take place. This, however, is corrected by the over-wind, which, upon reaching the forward end of the reel ll causes a breakage of the thread. The portion of thread in front of the over-wind is discarded. Immediately behind the over-wind, the thread progresses in regularly spaced turns so that the full desired number of turns will be present upon the reel H. The nozzles l4 and I6 immediately remove from reel l l the new thread end formed by the breakage at this over-wind and continuous running of the thread ensues.

In the embodiment of the invention disclosed in Figures 5 to 7, inclusive, there is employed a single nozzle 36 connected to receive fluid from any desired source. This nozzle may be carried by a bracket 31 fastened to the drip pan 3i. The nozzle 36 is directed against that side of the reel which is moving downward and is inclined in a forward direction toward the unsupported end of the reel as well as in a downward direction tangentially to the reel. Because of this position of the nozzle, the thread is peeled from the end of the reel 4| and is then directed downward to the reel 42. To assist in directing the thread to the desired part of the reel 4|; i. e., close to the flange 43 thereof, a guide 38 may be provided. This guide 38 may for convenience be carried by bracket 31.

It will be observed that the guide 38 is of channelled formation, being flared outward at its up-v per part and closing in gradually to a smaller cross-sectional curve at its lowermost part. The lower portion of the guide 38 is turned inward beneath the reel so as to project the thread inward toward the upper part of the reel 42. Consequently, the thread removed from the upper reel 4| passes along the broken line F immediately after establishing contact with the reel 42. Thereafter, due to the tendency of the thread to tighten between the reels, the thread between the reels approaches a straight line and in so doing rides over the guide 40 as indicatd by the broken line G until the thread comes to a final normal running position H. Inasmuch as the channelled guide 38 serves to deliver the thread upon the lower reel 42 toward the flange 43 thereof, it is After the thread has once been transferred and has assumed the normal running position D or H, the thread will be back of the jets l4 and 3B and the normal running of the thread will not be interrupted. It is obvious that any suitable fluid may be employed to facilitate the transfer operation, whether air, an inert gas, water or the like; also, that numerous changes in shape, number and arrangement of nozzles may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

It is intended that the patent shall cover, .by suitable expression in the appended claims, whatever features of patentable novelty reside in the invention.

What is claimed is: e

1. In combination, a rotatable reel of the type which advances a thread along its exterior surface in generally helical formation; supporting means for said reel disposed at one end only thereof, leaving the other end substantially unobstructed; and transfer means for removing a thread end from said reel comprising a nozzle directed against said reel near the unsupported end thereof.

2. In combination, a rotatable reel of the type which advances a thread along its exterior surface in generally helical formation; supporting means for said reel disposed at one end only thereof, leaving the other end substantiallyunobstructed; and transfer means for removing a thread end from said reel comprising a nozzle directed against said exterior surface of said reel located near and inclinednear the unsupported end thereof.

3. A rotatable reel of the type which advances a thread along its exterior surface in generally helical formation and, in combination therewith, transfer means for removing a thread end from said reel comprising a nozzle the axis of which is inclined toward the reel in the general direction of the advance of the thread.

4. A rotatable reel of the type which advances a thread along its exterior surface in generally helical formation and, in combination therewith, transfer means for removing a thread end from said reel comprising a pair of nozzles inclined toward each other in such manner as to converge at the zone at which the thread is discharged from the reel.

5. In combination, a rotatable reel of the type which advances a thread along its exterior surface in generally helical formation; supporting means for said reel disposed at one end only thereof, leaving the other end substantially unobstructed; and transfer means for removing a thread end from said reel comprising an exterior nozzle and an interior nozzle-directed against said reel in, such manner as to converge near the unsupported end thereof.

6. A combination according toclaim5 in'which the interior nozzle is fan-shaped.

'7. In combination, a rotatable reel of the type which advances a thread along its exterior surface in generally helical formation; supporting means for saidreel disposed at one end only thereof, leaving the other end substantially unobstructed; and transfer means for removing a thread end from said reel comprising a first nozzle directed against the exterior surface of said reel near the unsupported end thereof and a sec ond nozzle directed against the interior surface of said reel near the unsupported end thereof, said nozzle being disposed in a common plane.

8. A combination according to claim 7 in which the nozzle directed against the interior surface of the reel is supported at the end of a conduit passing through the supporting means for the reel.

9. The combination with a reel of the type which advances a thread along its exterior sur' face in generally helical formation, said reel being rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis, of means for removing a thread end from said reel to effect thread transfer, said means comprising a nozzle on the underside of the reel directed against the reel in the direction of advance of the thread.

10. The combination with a reel of the type which advances a thread along its exterior surface ln generally helical formation, said reel being rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis, of means for removing a thread end from said reel to effect thread transfer, said means comprising a nozzle disposed laterally of the reel and directed forward and downward along the side of the reel in the direction of advance of the thread.

11. In combination, a rotatable reel of the type which advances a thread along its exterior surface in generally helical formation; transfer means for removing a thread end from said reel; and a channelled guideway to receive the thread and direct it to a take-up means.

12. In combination, a rotatable reel of the type which advances a thread along its exterior surface in generally helical formation and guide means disposed in the expected path of travel of the thread to said reel, said guide means having a portion operating to form an overwind upon the reel.

13. A method of removing a thread from a uni- CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTIONo Patent No. 2,17 ,8LL0. September 26, 19 9..

FOSTER F. HILLIX.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows; Page 5, first column, line L O, claim 2, for the word "'said" first occurrence, read the;

line L l, same claim, for "near" second occurrence, read toward; 0nd column, line 18, claim 7, f0

and secr "nozzle" read nozzles; and that'the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same ay conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this ZlLth dav of October- A. D. 1959.

Henry Van Arsdale,

(Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents e 

